Most baseball fans know about the new rules in baseball. There are bigger bases, bans on shifts and pickoff limitations, but most importantly there is the pitch clock. The pitch clock is one of the worst things Major League Baseball has ever thought of. I love how the game of baseball moves much quicker than it used to. Before the pitch clock was installed, games averaged over three hours, but now they are about two and a half hours. However, the downfall of the pitch clock is the amount of injuries it causes. According to ESPN, just three months into the season there are over hundreds of MLB pitchers on the Injured List (IL). Some big names are pitchers like Spencer Strider, Shane Bieber, Merrill Kelly and German Marquez. Three of the four guys have to get Tommy John surgery, which is a surgical procedure to fix a torn ligament in your arm or leg.
MLB pitchers have been frustrated over the pitch clock. On Aug. 14 of last season, against the Los Angeles Angels, Max Scherzer was pitching to designated hitter Brandon Drury. Drury was on a 1-2 count and was called out on strikes because of the pitch clock. Scherzer was frustrated because he believed was going to strike out the side, however, Drury was called out before a pitch was even thrown. Walking off the mound, Scherzer threw the ball behind him and yelled into his glove.
Despite the frustrations over the pitch clock, it has also brought a lot of good things for baseball. According to TwinsDaily.com, There has, for example, been an increase in fans watching games. Along with some believing there’s more excitement to the game. According to Sports Illustrated, the rule changes have also made the game more exciting. Another pro is that games go by much quicker and usually produce more runs. According to Forbes.com the average number of runs increased from 2022. The average in 2022 used to be 8.6 and now it’s coming in at 9.2 in 2023.
Adding on, According to MLB.com, fans watched the most MLB on MLB.TV in a four- day period at the beginning of this season, with over 436 million minutes viewed. This total marked a 6% increase when compared to the first four days of the 2023 season. This is mostly because the MLB tries to make the game more exciting. However, the MLB has also tried expanding games to other countries around the world and get more people involved with their sports
While the MLB tries to make the game more exciting, what’s the price players have to face when playing the game they love? I disagree with the pitch clock because pitchers deal with enough injuries as is. For the past three years, the MLB has had over 225 injuries to pitchers. Some of them are career threatening. Imagine being one of the best pitchers in the world and getting injured and having to get Tommy John surgery. Some pitchers don’t come back from that surgery. It’s gotten better in the past, however, pitchers put lots of pressure on their arm, the surgery might fail, and sometimes their career is over before it begins.
As baseball continues to grow as a sport, they need to fix the rules of the pitch clock. Whether it’s extending the time a bit for pitchers or even having it in certain innings, pitchers have to put enough stress on their arms enough and it just gets worse. If players continue to get injured or worse end their career due to injury, the MLB might have to get rid of the pitch clock sooner rather than later.
